Six Ways to Help Students Make Good Summer Decisions
With summer upon us, many parents are processing how their kids can best use their time. It’s a difficult balance to strike. Too often, a typical school year consists of mom rushing her kids through a drive-through, grabbing some chicken nuggets and hustling over to a practice or rehearsal. Multiple times a week. What’s missing?…
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Adversity May Just Be a Student’s Best Friend
Last week I met someone at a student conference who inspired me. Alex is a junior in high school who has overcome several obstacles in his first sixteen years of life—an abusive, deadbeat dad who left the family; growing up in a single parent household afterward; family income that was at the poverty level; a…
Continue ReadingSeven Steps to Help Generation Z Fight and Beat Addiction
Is it just me, or have you noticed the disproportionate number of students who have addictions today? I hear Generation Z students freely acknowledge addictions to pot, vaping, sex, alcohol, and even their smart phone. The negative stigma for being an addict seems to be evaporating. Wait. I just read the research. It’s not just…
Continue ReadingWhat Emotion-Reading Technology Means for Us
You may not believe this—but word just got out that Amazon.com Inc. is working on a smart device that can read human emotions. That’s right. This is not science fiction. In fact, the technology may be able to discern your emotional or personal needs before you do. An example of an interaction might go something…
Continue ReadingMental Toughness Exercises for You and Your Students (Part Two)
Yesterday, I offered four simple exercises for students to grow their “grit.” Today, I will offer four more, in Part Two of the Eight Ideas to Develop Mental Toughness list. Before I do—consider the day we live in. When we reflect on the realities that Generation Z grows up with today, we could argue that…
Continue ReadingMental Toughness Exercises for You and Your Students
Did you know some of the greatest examples of “mental toughness” are unlikely heroes who failed or performed poorly prior to their rise to achievement? In other words, they all experienced a setback before they made a comeback: Roger Federer, the greatest tennis player in history, with seven Wimbledon titles, lost in the first round…
Continue ReadingThree Strategies to Build Work Ethic in Your Kids
“Hard work spotlights the character of people: some turn up their sleeves, some turn up their noses, and some don’t turn up at all,” wrote Sam Ewing. This statement was never truer than it is today. One of the questions I get asked most from coaches, teachers, and parents is: “How do I build a…
Continue ReadingHow to Solve the Problem of Student Online Relationships
When I first studied the data on Generation Z and their habits, I was surprised to see that teen sex has decreased over the last ten years. In fact, fewer teens are engaging in sexual activity than teens in my generation back in the 1970s. When I paused to consider why this is—I slowly understood…
Continue ReadingThis Breaking News Can Mean Only One Thing: The New Era of Video Games is Here
Today’s blog is from Andrew McPeak. Andrew is a next gen researcher, speaker, and author for Growing Leaders. Imagine with me an America that is slightly different than the one we know today. In every neighborhood of major cities across America, you find small internet cafes that offer top of the line gaming PCs which interested gamers can…
Continue ReadingThe Role of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Student Athletes
I just spent some time with athletic coaches from the Southeastern Conference. These are stellar people, many of whom have coached for decades. And they are coaching at the Division One level, the highest tier for student-athletes. So, I was a bit surprised when three of them spoke to me about how quickly these talented…
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